Monocular deprivation alters the direction of functional and morphological asymmetries in the pigeon's (Columba livia) visual system.

Abstract

One-day-old pigeons (Columba livia) were monocularly deprived by occluding the left or the right eye for 10 days. Up to 3 years later, degree and direction of functional and morphological asymmetries of deprived and control pigeons were analyzed. In control pigeons, the usual right-eye superiority was obtained in a visual discrimination task. In left-eye deprived pigeons, this behavioral asymmetry was strengthened, whereas the direction of lateralization was reversed in right-eye deprived birds. A morphological tectum analysis revealed that control and left-eye deprived pigeons displayed similar asymmetries, with the left-monocular deprived pigeons exhibiting more pronounced left-right differences. Tectal morphometry of right-eye deprived pigeons displayed a reversed pattern. Overall, the present study shows that a short period of posthatch monocular deprivation is sufficient to alter behavioral and morphological visual asymmetry for several years.